It is Asia's oldest institute for professional social work education and was founded in 1936 in the then Bombay Presidency of British India as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

In addition to these campuses, TISS offers teaching, training, research, and development support from centres established across India including in Leh, Ladakh and Port Blair, the Andaman and Nicobar.

[10] Notable organizations and personalities have been appreciative of TISS's social service work including Eleanor Roosevelt,[5] Jawaharlal Nehru,[5] Niels Bohr[11] and the United Nations,[7] among others.

The inauguration was attended by the Dalai Lama, who was reported to have stated that, "Since women have been shown to be more sensitive to others’ suffering, their leadership may be more effective.

Currently, it operates from two campuses: one in Alimineti Madhava Reddy Andhra Pradesh Academy of Rural Development (AMR-APARD) in Rajendranagar, and the other in Roda Mistry School of Social Work in Gachibowli.

[22] At the invitation of the Government of Telangana, TISS is in the process of setting up a 100 acres campus in Kothur Mandal, Mahabubnagar district.

[26] The Vice Chancellor of the institute acts as both the academic and administrative head from 25 September 2023, Prof. Manoj Kumar Tiwari.